Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 2,534 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,344,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,534 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.82% of Atmos Energy worth $2,242,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 48.9% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.4% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the period. Prudential PLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 8.6% in the third quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 15,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after buying an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 14.7% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 15,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $309,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

ATO opened at $116.29 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $116.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.17.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.